I have a bunch of .410 hulls, and I was wondering how hard it is to reload them by hand.

Can anyone advise me as to what type of material/ tools I might need to reload (mostly) Winchester Super X hulls?

Cowboy_Dan

All of the skeet guys I shoot with that shoot 410's definitely reload them and the Win AA hulls are highly sought after. The loaders some use are both MEC. The Sizemaster and the Grabber-9000 work very well. What I know for a fact is that the MEC's (12,16&20) I have are highly adjustable and work very well. The service department personell at MEC are the most helpful folks I have ever talked with. When my 9000G for 12ga was new it didn't stop in the exact proper spot and the guy I called at MEC spent almost a half hour with me taking me through everystep and item by item and I haven't had a single problem since.

Maybe I should clarify "by hand" ...

What I meant is that I would like to inquire as to the possibility of reloading shotshells without investing in a machine.

Way I see it, for the small quantities I'll be doing I could decap and reprime by hand. I could also probably fold down the ends without needing too much leverage. Or does this even work?

quote:

Originally posted by Cowboy_Dan:
Maybe I should clarify "by hand" ...

What I meant is that I would like to inquire as to the possibility of reloading shotshells without investing in a machine.

Way I see it, for the small quantities I'll be doing I could decap and reprime by hand. I could also probably fold down the ends without needing too much leverage. Or does this even work?

Why? A MEC Jr. is cheap.Less than a flat of shells and loading is fun not a chore.

Cowboy...

It sounds like you've never reloaded shotgun shells before so here are a few ideas.... with safety issues aside one of the most important issues in reloading SG is the crimp. It's everything where preformance is concerned. I haven't reloaded 410 but I'd be willing to bet that the smaller the diameter of the shell the more important the crimp is. The primer alone in a 12 ga w/ 1oz of shot will throw the shot 30 feet out of the barrel. So a 410 w/ an improper crimp will be launching the shot out of the case before the powder even starts to burn and that will have the velocities all over the place. If one charge leaves the barrel at 1200fps and the next one is 1050fps how will you ever become consistant at hitting what you are looking at?
Lee used to selll a compact loading kit that had everything one needs to load a paticular bullet or shell.You will only need a small mallet. You don't even need to get a powder measure because they supplied a little dipper and a list of appropriate powders for the dipper size. I started reloading w/ these exact kits in 7X57-Mauser and a 222-Remington back in the 70's. They worked rather well but were limited in their scope of preformance. Maybe you could find one on e-bay or gunbroker.
Bottom line.... don't try to "jerry-rig" something by hand. The idea here being you most likely want to keep both of them.
Just my thought on the matter, Have fun with your 410, they sure are fun to shoot.
Joe

I have found the following process for reloading shotshells for minimal investment. I have only watched it on mute, but it seems doable enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ4IBv0Bg9U

If anyone sees fit to comment on the process, I will consider your input. It will probably be a little time before I start reloading my shotshells, I still have some factory loads.

If you are really cheap, then get a Lee in .410,
I bought one in 16 ga. a couple years ago for $30.
If you are going to load volume, buy a MEC.

Forget it and get a press, or don't reload.

Sure you can use almost anything to reload with if you were in some kind of survival situation AND you had primers and powder, but we aren't. As already mentioned, it will be more likely to cause some type of accident and the quality of the end product will almost certainly be less than ideal ESPECIALLY loading .410s.

CowboyDan, it will all depend on how much shooting and what kind of shooting you intend to do. I started out with a Lee Hand Loader back in the mid-60's loading 12 gauge shells.

If you are going to do a lot of shooting, get a MEC or one of the other presses. What type of gun will you be shooting these shells in?

I'm firing them mostly on my Thunder 5 .45 lc/.410 bore revolver. I mostly use them to play "4 colts and a 410" at the range.

I would get the inexpensive Lee solutions, but the hand loaders are no longer made and they don't make a press in .410 that I can find.

As far as volume goes, I only have about 50 hulls at this time and don't shoot them especially often, but would use them more if I started reloading them.

Well in that case, and here is the route I had to go by somewhat with my .351 Win.SL.

Do you know a good machinist that likes guns?

If you will look around and are willing to pay for the materials and labor, you could get you a basic Lee Hand Loader built. Are you using 2 1/2 inch or 3 inch shells? The crimper would be the most problematic, but it could be worked around.

You might try running an add on here if you haven't already and some of the other gun related sites, especially those geared more toward shotguns/shotgunners.

A goods machinist should be able to make you everything you need in a day or so out of good bar stock. You can find all the dimensions for the shells in several places and if the body of the loader is worked up for the 3 inch shells the 2 1/2 inchers should pose no problem.

Unless I am mistaken, the only possible problem and I am not sure about this, but with it being a .410 bore, when fired in a .45 LC chamber which should be about or around .454 diameter both the brass and the case are going to expand to fit the chamber. I may be wrong on that, no great shakes if I am. But it is possible/probable that the body of the die will have to have acing cone area to get the case back to its original size, or if you keep using the same cases, the body of the die could be drilled to accept the cases as is with little or no resizing occurring.

Getting set up reloading is expensive no matter what route you go. Figure up the cost of the cheapest press, wads, shot, powder and primers. Think of how much you really shoot. I bet you can buy a lot of shells with the money you will spend on your initial investment. I am saying a lot thinking of how much you would actually shoot in a .410 revolver or as a hunter, not as a skeet shooter.

quote:

A goods machinist should be able to make you everything you need in a day or so out of good bar stock. You can find all the dimensions for the shells in several places and if the body of the loader is worked up for the 3 inch shells the 2 1/2 inchers should pose no problem

If he's halfway a "good machinist" that will cost you more than a used decent press and dies.

quote:

Originally posted by SFRanger7GP:
Getting set up reloading is expensive no matter what route you go. Figure up the cost of the cheapest press, wads, shot, powder and primers. Think of how much you really shoot. I bet you can buy a lot of shells with the money you will spend on your initial investment. I am saying a lot thinking of how much you would actually shoot in a .410 revolver or as a hunter, not as a skeet shooter.

Exactly, if you're going to the trouble, go all the way and get a decent set up. Otherwise, your
"savings" will be insignificant compared to your outlays for components and your time value.

quote:

If he's halfway a "good machinist" that will cost you more than a used decent press and dies.

It all depends upon the machinist and how well the person wanting the work done knows the machinist.

I have a long time friend that is a good machinist, and I get a good bit of work done for the price of materials and a little beer.

Point is for what CowboyDan appears to be wanting, he would be better off sticking with factory loads and not worry with reloading.

But, that is not what he wants and a fully set up press and what it will cost is not really what he needs for the amount of shooting he will be doing.

A half way competent machinist can build the parts he will need at a reasonable cost, especially if he is willing to purchase all the materials and get all of the specs for the machining operation.

I agree in principal that a fully rigged press would be a better option, but that isn't what Cowboy Dan is wanting to do.

I just stumbled across this site.
410 hand reloading kit.

These fellows are giving you good advice. I've loaded tens of thousands of rounds of shotgun in every gauge. The single most critical element of a shotgun shell is the crimp. Consistent ignition, consistent velocity and consistent performance depend on a proper and consistent crimp.

If you are insistent on loading 410 by hand then you certainly can deprime and prime by hand but I would advise investing in a roll crimper. I use one in my drill press for specialty loads like my 10 gauge 2 7/8".

A buddy of mine loads grouse loads for his old Iver Johnson Champion 410 by punching out the old primer and seating the new primer with one of the old plier type primer seaters. He does use a drill press roll crimper and gets great results with his loads. He is careful to follow listed load data.

It is critical to follow listed load data. Shotgun shells are not a place to experiment with unproven loads.

I've never tried the Lane reloading kits that Rusty listed. They work just like the old Lee kits and I have used those so they should work fine. They are an economical option. The old Lee kits seem to go for a fortune on eBay.

Mart

I just purchased a used MEC 600jr in 410 for $50 and the guy threw in a brand new pound of Hodgdon `lil-gun, powder and the proper bushing for $15. That along with other components that I have here and I'm into 410 ammo for about $4.35/box That's an $80 savings for the cost of a flat of new ammo. I just loaded over 500 hulls and the savings from the 1st 10 boxes paid for the loader and the powder.
My wife hates it when I spend money just to save money. Plus I have to replace my bench now to make room for yet another relaoding machine.

Certainly here in Europe paper shotshells used to be widely re-loaded by hand.

The most basic equipment being a two "pillar" de-capping and capping tool, a large brass ring to re-size the case and particularly the brass head, and a wooded dowel with a rounded top end (like an old fashioned round door knob) to ram the wads down inside the case onto the powder.

Add a couple of adjustable scoops for powder and for shot and a roll turnover tool that clamped to the table edge and you were set up. Indeed some sophisticated devices even incorporated a rammer and etc., "all in one".

At its most basic you could just about get by with a brass ring for re-sizing, a dowel for wad ramming and a roll turnover device and Lee's excellent yellow plastic measures.

This is where I got my .410 loader. Its just like the old Lee Loaders.

http://lanesreloading.com/